Bukayo Saka is making the ‘best winger’ debate look silly

Very much overshadowed by the late collapse at Molineux, but last week brought the brilliant news that all Arsenal supporters had been hoping for: Bukayo Saka is here to stay.

The 24 year old, who has been with the club since the age of seven, put pen to paper on a new contract that runs until 2030, reportedly earning £300,000-per-week. Saka himself preemptively intimated the announcement by miming signing a piece of paper after heading home the opener against Wolves last Wednesday; let's not mention what happened thereafter!

That was Saka's eight goal of the campaign and first since securing victory against Brentford on 3 December. As a result, many rival supporter have been squawking that the England international is no longer elite, but the stats say otherwise.

Bukayo Saka remains the Premier League's best winger

As noted by Squawka, Saka is the only player in the Premier League this season to have both created 40+ chances and completed 40+ take-ons, registering 46 of both. This is despite the fact he has only seen 1,732 league minutes, around 69% of Arsenal's total minutes, due to various injury issues.

Note: Stats via FBref, understat, Premier League & SofaScore.

Saka ranks highly for pretty much evert attacking metric in the Premier League this season. For example, despite limited minutes, only Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago, Bryan Mbeumo, Antoine Semenyo and Jean-Philippe Mateta have attempted more than his 24 shots on target.

Meanwhile, the Arsenal winger is in the top four when it comes to successful open play crosses, successful dribbles, chances created and key passes, while only Haaland has touched the ball more regularly in the opposition's penalty area.

During Sunday's North London derby demolition, Saka was back to his best. He ranked first when it came to duels contested (22), passes in the final third (21), touches in the opposition box (18), fouls won (4) and take-ons completed (2), which isn't a bad day's work.

So, while his raw data of eight goals and seven assists is below his usual high standards, Saka continues to be a central figure as Mikel Arteta's team chase four pieces of silverware. Next up for the Gunners is a huge clash with fierce London rivals Chelsea on Sunday, after an entire week without a game, a luxury they haven't had since mid-December.

Saka has two goals and four assists to his name against Chelsea to date, creating Mikel Merino's equaliser at Stamford Bridge in November, so will he sparkle one again?